Family
by Pharaohs Queen
Summary: Knowing who your family is can make all the difference to a little girl. Toph hasn't told Lin who her father is, but that's not going to stop her from training her daughter to be a great earthbender. Takes place between ATLA and LOK. Light Toko fluff.


"Family"

"Mom?"

"What?"

"Can I go over and play with Tenzin?"

"Have you done any bending practice today?"

"Yep."

Mother gave daughter a scrutinizing look that only a police chief could give. "I don't think so. You know I don't like it when you lie to me. Now go get your blindfold."

"But—"

"Go."

Little Lin stomped off, a scowl on her face. She wanted to stick her tongue out at her mother, a gesture that her mother probably wouldn't be able to see—but she was never sure.

Toph finished taking off her armor and stretched. It had been a long day, and with Lin starting to be difficult already, it looked like it was going to be longer. She sighed and rubber her unseeing eyes, easily making her way out the house to their backyard.

Though "yard" was misleading, in this case. A quarter of the area behind the house was what other residents of the city would call a yard, with grass laid and trees standing. The rest of the yard consisted of dirt and rocks of varying sizes—from pebbles to boulders several feet taller than Toph.

She stepped down onto the packed earth and sighed, a grin splitting her face. "Earth. Good, solid earth." So much better than this "concrete" that the city builders seemed intent on pouring over every square inch of the city. Sure, it was just as easy to bend, but nothing was better than a large, solid chunk of earth.

Toph walked to the middle of the boulder-strewn yard, taking another deep breath. Behind her, she heard the door slide open and shut, and Lin walked out, slouching and grumbling, her blindfold dragging on the ground.

"Come on now, stop complaining," Toph said, turning to face her daughter. "The sooner you finish bending practice, the sooner you can go play."

The young girl grumbled incoherently, and gave the blindfold to her mother. Toph knelt and placed a hand on her daughter's face, her fingertips lightly brushing against Lin's skin. She tickled Lin briefly under the chin, and the girl giggled. "There, that's better," Toph said. "A pretty smile for a pretty girl." She placed a fond kiss on Lin's forehead, then set the blindfold over her eyes, tying it in a firm knot behind her head. She checked once more to make sure Lin's eyes were completely covered, then she picked the thin girl up.

"Let's do an obstacle course today, sound good?"

"Yes!"

"Good." Toph carried her daughter over to the fence, using her bending to rearrange the yard around them as she walked—adding little hills and valleys, moving the rocks and boulders, and soon the yard looked completely different than it had before. "Once you make it over to me, you can go over and play with Tenzin for a while."

"Okay."

She set Lin down. "Okay, let me see your stance." Lin bent her knees and brought her arms up, her stance a modification of her mother's. Toph tapped her toes against Lin's foot until the girl widened her stance a little more. Toph stood there quietly for a moment, then stomped the ground. "Rock on!" she cried. Lin wavered only a little. "Very good Lin." Toph stomped again, launching herself backwards into the air, towards the grassy section of the yard. "Go!" She called over, then sat on a flat boulder that rested right on the edge of the grass.

Toph was watching Lin move slowly when other footsteps, just as slow and much more quiet, caught her attention.

"You know," she said, half turning her head to speak over her shoulder, "I figure you'd have realized by now that you can't sneak up on me."

There was a pause, and a chuckle came from the owner of the second set of feet. "As observant as ever Toph."

"When am I not?" She asked with a grin, gesturing to the visitor to come sit beside her.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Not really."

There was a rustle of cloth, and he sat down next to her. "What's going on here?"

"Training," Toph replied, and twisted her foot. The ground where Lin had been about to place her foot sunk slightly, and the girl tripped, but managed to stay upright.

"Mooooom!" She called, managing to fit exasperation, irritation, and anger over the move in just one word.

"Stay alert!" Toph called back.

"You're relentless. She's only eight."

The earthbender leaned back on her hands. "She'll thank me for it someday."

They were silent for a while, each watching Lin make her slow way through the obstacle course, with Toph changing the landscape slightly every now and then.

"So what's the reason for the visit?" Toph finally asked.

"I just wanted to come and see you two."

"Hm." He was getting better at hiding his lies. "Yeah. Like the Fire Lord really has time to just randomly drop out to see people during his busy day."

"The _Fire Lord _can make time to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants," Zuko said, and Toph grinned at the quiet huff in his voice.

"Yeah, sure," she said, punching him in the shoulder.

"Ow."

"Wimp. No really, why did you come?"

She sensed him lean back against the rock, his fingers brushing against hers. "I wanted to come see how she was doing," he finally said, lowering his voice. "She's getting to be quite the capable bender."

Toph slammed her heel on the ground, sending a crack racing through the earth towards Lin. The girl didn't pause in her walking, smoothly stepping around the fracture as it raced past her. "Yes, she is," Toph agreed softly. "I'm proud of what she's been able to do."

"As am I."

They lapsed into silence again, each watching Lin in their own way.

"How curious is she?" Zuko asked, his voice quieter.

"As curious as an eight-year-old can get."

"You know what I mean."

Toph leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and shrugged. "She hasn't asked."

"She doesn't want to know?" His voice was steady, but she could hear the almost silent hurt underneath.

Toph shrugged again. "How should I know?"

"Hm."

Lin ran the last little bit towards the two of them. "Finished!" She said, her grin wide.

Toph smiled. "Good job. Take off your blindfold and say hello to our guest."

Lin did so and her grin widened. "Fire Lord Zuko!" She jumped at him and he caught her, a small smile on his own face. "Did you see me make it through the course Mom set up for me?"

"I did. You did a very good job, especially with your Mom changing things on you."

"Thanks." She gave him a tight hug.

He returned the hug, and set her on her feet. "I need to go now Lin, but I'll come by and visit you later, okay?"

"I'd like that very much!"

Zuko smiled again and tousled her hair. "Good-bye Lin. Good-bye Toph," he added, then walked out of the yard.

Toph stretched again. "You can go play with Tenzin now, once you've put your blindfold away."

Lin was quiet, then stepped closer to her mother. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Toph threw a puzzled look in her direction. "Sure. What is it?"

Lin took a deep breath and leaned forward. "Um… why did you lie to Fire Lord Zuko?"

Toph's breath caught in her throat, but she kept the puzzled expression on her face. "What do you mean? Why'd you think I was lying to him?"

"Well, I mean, I'm not sure," Lin mumbled, talking to the ground now, "but I thought I felt the vibrations you told me to look for when people where lying when you were talking to him. And I know you don't like it when I lie to you so I was wondering why you _would_ lie to him."

Toph was silent for a long time as she thought about that. Eventually, she sighed and pulled Lin into her lap. "It's a very difficult situation Lin. I'll explain it to you someday later, okay?"

She had the feeling Lin was giving her a troubled look. "Will you?"

"I will," Toph said firmly. "I just think it's too complicated for you to understand now, but you will when you're older."

"Okay." Lin was quiet again. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Of course."

Lin hesitated. "Do you think… do you think Dad knows how I'm doing?"

Toph took a deep breath. "He knows. And he's very proud of what a strong earthbender and a good little girl you've become."

"You think so?"

Toph smiled. "I know so." She set her daughter on the ground. "Go on. Maybe if you go fast enough, Katara will let you eat dinner with them."

"As long as it's not sea prunes."

Mother and daughter each pulled a disgusted face. "Yeah, those are gross," Toph agreed. "Now get going."

"Bye Mom. Love you!"

"Love you too."

Toph watched Lin go back in the house, then run down the street towards Aang and Katara's home.

She sat outside for a very long time, replaying the conversations in her mind.

_"How curious is she?"_

_ "She hasn't asked."_

_ "Why did you lie to Fire Lord Zuko?"_

The sun started to sink behind the horizon, taking its warmth with it; Toph still hadn't moved. She turned her head to face the dying light.

_Why didn't I tell him? Why haven't I told her?_ _If I ever figure out the answers to those questions Lin, I'll let you know._

She sighed and stood.

_He's very proud of you Lin. The only time I know you disappointed him is when you ended up being an earthbender like me, and not a firebender like him._

The sun disappeared over the horizon, and Toph turned and walked, alone still, into her home.

* * *

YOU GUYS THE INTERNET NEEDS MORE TOKO.

*ahem* anyways, I realize this wasn't overly fluffy, but I kinda like it that way. It's an interesting scene that popped into my head and I wanted to write it down, so HERE YA GO ENJOY.

Yes, Toko is my OTP. I ship it SO HARD.

SO HARD.

Hope you enjoyed it. Now that I've gotten all my feels out maybe I can finally concentrate on my other fics, hehe… ^^;

**Love me and leave a review please!**


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